Haredi Orthodox men studying toward professional degrees at Kemach, a Jerusalem-based organization that guides haredim through study programs and job placement. (Kemach) TEL AVIV (JTA) — When Moshe Friedman turned 31, he made what was for him a radical decision: He left school and launched a start-up. Plenty of Israelis jump from graduate school to the high-tech sector, but for Friedman the leap was longer. A descendant of rabbis, he had… Read more »
A Haredi man and his son standing next to the army recruiting office in Jerusalem on August 1, 2012. (Noam Moskowitz/Flash 90/JTA) TEL AVIV (JTA) – The controversy had sparked a national debate, raucous protests in the streets and the collapse of a historic government. That came in the months after the Israeli Supreme Court had nullified a law exempting haredi Orthodox Israelis from military service and given the government until… Read more »
(Jewish Ideas Daily) — This week, the Deferral of Military Service for Yeshiva Students Law, better known as the Tal Law, expires. This law is the latest enactment of the so-called “status quo arrangement,” which frames the uneasy relationship between Israel’s Haredi and secular populations. As such, the expiration… Read more »
Michael Ripstein on patrol along the Egyptian border (courtesy Michael Ripstein) MAZKERET BATYA, Israel (Tablet) — In 20 years of military service, I thought I’d seen all the crappy training camps the Israeli army had to offer. But there I was, early one morning last spring, walking from the glorified gravel pit that passed for a parking lot at the… Read more »
